Week in Review—Hammond

HAMMOND, IN—The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following:

Pleas:

Victor Wiggins, 29, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to the felony offense of possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Sentencing has been set for July 18, 2012. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang-Adiga.

Carlos Salas-Delgado, 35, of Hialeah, Florida, a defendant in the case U.S. v Martinez et al., pled guilty before Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to the felony offense of conspiracy to distribute heroin. Sentencing has been set for July 25, 2012. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Indiana State Police, and the Chicago Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Kolar.

Stewart Roth, 58, of Crown Point, Indiana, a defendant in the case NH Environmental Group Inc et al., pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to a felony violation of Section 1319( c)(2)(a) of the Clean Water Act. In his plea agreement, Roth admitted that he knowingly violated this section of the CWA by discharging pollutants into a sump directly connected to the Hammond Sanitary Sewer System without a permit to discharge pollutants into the sanitary sewer in Hammond, Indiana. Sentencing has been set for August 1, 2012. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toi Houston.

Thomas Spangle, 31, of Lafayette, Indiana, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of distribution of child pornography. Sentencing has been set for August 7, 2012. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by members of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Lafayette Police Department, and the Indiana State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.

Jennifer Guelinas, 44, of Valparaiso, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior Judge James T. Moody to the felony offense of wire fraud. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.

Tristan Davis, 30, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior Judge James T. Moody to the felony offense of making false statements to a licensed firearms dealer. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.

Mazell Risper, 48, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before Judge Rudy Lozano to the felony offense of possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. Risper has a prior felony conviction for receiving stolen property in 2008. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives HIDTA Task Force. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Nozick and Special Assistant United States Attorney Armando Salinas.

If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Dispositions:

Delilah Day, 30, of Carpentersville, Illinois, a defendant in the case U.S. v Wilson et al., was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to eight months of probation, to include eight months of home detention, and $19,169.50 in restitution after pleading guilty to the felony offense of attempt and conspiracy to commit fraud with identification documents. According to the sentencing memorandum filed by the government in this case, Day obtained fraudulent birth documents purportedly issued from the state of Illinois; utilized Social Security account numbers issued by the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration to other individuals; and generated fraudulent earnings statements purportedly issued by businesses. As part of the conspiracy, Day utilized these documents to obtain numerous state of Indiana identification cards to open bank accounts at various financial institutions in Indiana and Illinois and then utilized fraudulent and counterfeit checks at various financial institutions and merchants. This case was the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toi Houston.

Darcell Perkins, 26, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior Judge James T. Moody to 30 months’ imprisonment and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of a firearm as a felon. According to the sentencing memorandum filed by the government in this case, Perkins has a prior felony conviction for attempted residential entry in which he, while armed with a shotgun, unlawfully attempted to enter the victim’s residence. In addition, Perkins has another felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance and a misdemeanor possession of controlled substance conviction. This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives HIDTA Task Force. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.

Andrew Powell, 34, of Sauk Village, Illinois, was sentenced by Judge Rudy Lozano to 135 months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of conspiracy to distribute heroin. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang-Adiga.

Kelsey Fortner, 23, of Cedar Lake, Indiana, was sentenced by Judge Rudy Lozano to two years’ probation, to include eight months of home detention, after pleading guilty to the felony offense of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin. This case was the result of an investigation by Drug Enforcement Administration. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang-Adiga.